3.24.19 Revelation
O.INTRO
Victor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning” is not the musings of an academic sitting in a pub drinking a beer and speculating on suffering and life’s meaning.
It was birthed in a Nazi death camp…he saw the search for and the loss of meaning up close and personal. He said that the prisoner who had lost faith in the future–his own future–was doomed.
“With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and become subject to mental and physical decay.”
Frankl said the loss of future would show up suddenly when a prisoner would not get up one morning and go into formation…the guards could beat and curse him…but this had no effect…the man had lost his future…and so he had lost his will to live.
As I said several weeks ago…I have great admiration for Frankl as a man who remained “human” after enduring the inhumane.
However, I disagree with some of his conclusions.
He wrote “Long ago we(prisoners) had passed the stage of asking what was the meaning of life, a naive query which understands life as the attaining of some aim through the creation of something of value.”
Translation: There is no absolute, external meaning…it is up to find one.
Meaning, for Frankl was very close to what you hear frequently today…”What is my truth?”
He didn’t believe there was any single form of meaning but each person had to ask…”What is my mine?” I do agree with him that a loss of faith in a personal future is devastating for any human.
Suicide rates are climbing among military members.
The common misconception is that this is due to increased combat exposure…it absolutely is not.
It is due to a host of factors but among them are…decreasing loss of a sense of meaningful future.
When there is no meaningful “then”…there is no meaningful “now”
But if, like Frankl suggested…we invent our meaning…our own future…then what happens when my meaning fails me?
-As it inevitable does.
Solomon wrote that God has put “eternity in our hearts”…our internal GPS is set on eternity.
1
When we lose that…we become lost…that is Genesis chapter 3.
But thanks be to God…he came back for us…he found us…that is Genesis 3 to Revelation 22.
The eternal one has entered into time and has given us an eternal hope that transforms our lives in time.
This much is true: Something is true about the future, meaning…other things are not true.
Your truth/my truth…your meaning/my meaning…is no more real than “Your laws of physics and mine”…truth and meaning are fixed by God just as gravity is.
-I am convinced that what is real is…
1. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”
2. “It is appointed for humans to once to die and after that to face judgment”
3. “God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us”
4. Rev. 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5. We are made by God and for God…we exist for his glory.
Today we finish our jog through the Bible
It is a single story with multiple sub-plots…leading to Jesus Christ.
Our singular purpose for this first quarter has been…confidence.
“Con fide”…life with faith.
To live with faith in the God who exists and who has spoken…we don’t have to guess…we can know the things that are most important to know.
Today we finish at the place where we would expect the Bible to finish…at the end of human history in its present form…and then beyond.
The last book of the Bible is called “Revelation”
Rev. 1:1 “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John…”
Revelation is a book that has spawned its own cottage industry.
Just the “left behind” book series itself has 16 books in it and sold 80 million copies…that is a lot of money. Truth in advertising…I am not a fan of the Left Behind series.
To read Revelation together with a newspaper and see only your time and to press current issues into John’s letter will lead to wrong and strange conclusions.
2
On the other hand it is appropriate and helpful to look at the world around us through the lens of John’s letter and see God’s final victory in human history…no matter how things seem at the present.
-It is helpful to see principles that flow from the images of Revelation and see how they apply to our time now.
This has always been its purpose…whether God’s people are suffering under Nero in the first century.
Or under Edi Amin, Hitler, Stalin in the 20th century or Isis in the 21st….these human leaders animated by that ancient enemy, Satan…have always tried to crush the church.
Revelation speaks of God’s final victory in human history…he wins at the end…and he is winning now if we have eyes to see it.
The Cross didn’t look like winning on Friday…by the empty grave on Sunday did.
Believers of all times…including during John’s time and including any believers that might live after we are gone…can find comfort, hope…and see God’s sovereign control of nations and the final victory of Christ…this is the message of Revelation.
Revelation is not mean to be a sort of Crystal Ball…it is meant to tie up the Scriptures into a final conclusion.
It continues the Biblical theme of hope in Christ…we have a final hope that fuels faithful actions in the present.
It uses symbolic language to pull together all 66 books of the Bible, it ties the beginning of time to the end.
It shows how God’s original purposes…will ultimately triumph.
Revelation is a unique type of literature, a genre called “Apocalyptic writing”
Apocalyptic: is the Greek word we translate as “Revelation” as in the first verse of Revelation…”The revelation (apocalypse) of Jesus…”
This type of literature recounts a prophet’s symbolic visions that revealed God’s perspective on history, so that the present could be viewed in the light of histories final outcome.” Bible Project.com
The book is loaded with symbols…but they are not symbols of nothing…but of real things. A wedding ring
A hug, a salute
A cross, a name
3
In Revelation almost all the imagery is taken from the Old Testament…this makes sense since it is tying the entire Bible together in conclusion.
What we call the book of Revelation is actually a letter that was written to seven churches that existed in what is now modern Turkey.
The letter was meant to be, and was, copied and circulated to the churches in the region.
Important point of understanding the Bible:
-The Bible can only “mean” now what it “meant” then.
In other words it was a letter written to actual people John knew in certain circumstances…and so it is addressed to them and their circumstances.
It has application for all Christians of all times…but it was written to them specifically.
It can’t mean now what it never meant then…so we must understand the letter’s original time and place to make sense out of it now.
John was in exile on Patmos…a small Island off the coast of Turkey.
The setting was that a wave of terrible persecution under Nero had passed and now a second wave under Domitian was underway.
The church was struggling to make sense out of this…much like we would, or we do
“When is this final victory of God going to happen?”
“Why does evil seem to just cycle through…one bad leader, government after another?” “Why do I continue to suffer…where is this gospel hope for me?”
The main theme of the book is “faithfulness in the midst of difficulty based on a certain future hope. In the beginning chapters we learn John is writing down some stuff God revealed to him in order to help
some churches in his time.
-Many in these churches are suffering…he says more persecution is coming.
-The churches he addresses are much like churches today…some are distracted by apathy, some by affluence, some are struggling with the persecution
The next section is the Throne of God vision with tons of images from the Old Testament prophets.
In God’s hand is this scroll that is sealed and in it is the message of how God’s Kingdom would come on earth.
But alas, no has the qualifications to open the scroll…John is weeping and weeping because what is in the scrolls is important stuff to know.
4
Then he hears “Don’t weep, See, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll.”
So John hears about this Lion…this great King foretold in the OT…but when he looks around for the lion…he sees a Lamb.
And this lamb looks as though it had been killed…but now it’s alive.
Remember…this is a vision…think of a dream you have had where images and people and ideas sort of morph from one thing to another.
The difference is this is not some random dream from a cheeseburger and fries before bed…this is a vision from God.
This Lion of Judah is also the Lamb who was slain…and now tons of angels…millions of them are worshipping him.
Then there are 3 sets of 7 divine judgments on earth…much like what happened to Egypt when they refused to let God’s people go.
The idea here is =people are not responding to God’s severe mercy…this is a summary of the OT story…the story will continue to the end..
Then there is there is terrible beast that appears, reminiscent of the beasts in Daniel’s dreams.
This beast wages war on God’s people…he did in the first century and in every century since then…the 21st century is so far shaping up to be one of the worst for killing Christians.
-The church is under terrible attack by Satan-animated governments everywhere.
Behind all the beasts of Revelation is the great Dragon (Satan)…the ancient evil who animates all contemporary evil.
The symbolism behind all these beasts and persecution and suffering is the repeated story that began in the Garden in Genesis 3…there is a spiritual reality behind the physical reality we see and feel.
Behind the persecution of the Roman empire, a very real and terrible physical suffering, an unseen and real spiritual battle raged.
This will always be the case…what we see with our eyes is not all there is…not even most of what is.
Then there are two great beasts in Rev. 13…these represent governments that rise up and demand allegiance and worship.
Worship for their military might and the security it brings and for the economic might and the security it brings.
5
But as the nations have found throughout history…their security is ultimately false…all nations eventually fall.
One beast demands allegiance through a mark on the hand and forehead.
Lots of strange speculation, here to say the least.
I agree with those who say this mark of the beast is the “anti-shema”
The Shema is ancient profession of faith in the One true God…shema=”hear and obey”
Deut. 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (all means nothing left for false gods) 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
The word of God was to be tied to their foreheads and hands as symbols of the truth of God shaping their thoughts and actions.
Mark of the beast then is the anti-shema…it is the lie of the enemy shaping thoughts and actions.
What is symbolized here is that there will always be demands from human cultures that people in those cultures offer full allegiance to the “spirit of the times” rather than to the Eternal God.
So instead of tying God’s word to your head and hands…letting it’s truth direct your thoughts and actions.
People will put the lies of the passing times on their heads and hands…they will fall in line with the mind and actions with the current “beast”
What about the whole 666?
“Well clearly it is Topeka…the zip codes there are all 666..”
Stranger things have been suggested.
John was fluent in Hebrew and Greek…Hebrews letters also function as numbers.
If you spell “Nero Caesar” or “Beast” in Hebrew both amount to 666.
This is likely what he meant…but it had a contemporary application and it continues to apply to future “beasts”
Nero was just a contemporary version of that ancient evil…that shows up in various human figures. People have said the beast was various Roman emperors, and it was Hitler, and Stalin…and many others.
6
They were in a sense all correct…all who rise up and demand what God alone deserves…are acting as human representatives of the ancient evil one.
The devil whispered first in Adam’s ear, and then Nero’s ear, and then Hitler’s ear…he will continue to whisper until the end.
It was true of the Assyrians, and the Babylonians and the Persians and the Romans…it is true now. It has been true of the governments and cultures of mankind.
The demands for allegiance to the power of security and the significance of wealth and stuff is animated at the spiritual level by the Spiritual enemy of God and his people.
Revelation is about an ancient battle that is going to be an ongoing until God closes the chapter on human history in its present form.
So let’s go to the end…the last two chapters of this letter and the entire written word of God.
Rev. 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
This new heaven and a new earth are straight from Isaiah 65.
John is connecting creation, the prophets…all human history to an end and a new beginning…God is in charge of all of it.
But wait no more sea? I love the ocean what’s up with that?
Symbolism, remember…the sea was seen then to be a chaotic deadly place…this is the end of chaos, the end of danger leading to death…not the end of adventure…just chaos.
This is the new Garden of Eden…God is dwelling with his people again. And
The New Jerusalem, also the symbol of God’s presence with his people.
This is all the promises of the OT wrapped up…this is all things made new that have gone wrong.
Jump down to verse 22.
Rev. 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
7
What is significant about the lack of a temple in this New Jerusalem?
The Temple was where the presence of God was manifest among his people.
There is no need for a Temple…God is with them again like he was in the Garden.
All this sounds very theological and strange…how does it fit with the “real” world I live in now? Let’s try to think of what it means for God to be with us…for us to be with God after this life is over.
*I have longed to be with loved ones.
-When I think of my mom, or my friend Paul…I feel pain
-It is a real pain…worse in some ways than physical pains
*Perhaps you have longed for peace, or security, or significance, or relief from deep emotional and physical pains.
*You may long for beauty, order from the chaos, rest
*Now consider the glimpses of joy, happiness, meaning, beauty, delight, hope…you have felt…most everyone has felt some of this…you want to hang on but it slips away.
*Consider that all these pains and longings are really signs that point us to God…the one who made us…the one we were made for…the one who is the fulfillment of all of this longing.
2 Cor. 5:2…meanwhile, we groan.
When we are there, with God…we don’t groan…we live in a direct and personal relationship with the source of all our longings.
We can experience this in part now…but we will in fullness then.
Revelation is “meanwhile, we groan…but someday…we will experience ongoing joy”
The future existence is often depicted in popular culture/media as being boring…heaven is void of problems which means it is void of excitement and adventure.
This is so wrong.
What is boring now? Lack of meaning is boring.
Never being satisfied with what I have and always seeking the next thing…that is boring. Lack of beauty and peace and joy…is boring Addictions…anger…Bitterness…complaining…these are boring.
8
And Sin is boring…it never delivers on its promises…but keeps on making them…now that is boring. God is the opposite of boring…life with him is something that will be an eternal adventure.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
So why doesn’t this city need the sun or moon? Because the people walk in the light of God’s glory.
25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
The gates of cities were shut at night to keep danger out…cities were never safe…this is perpetual safety.
Okay, that’s the good news…but there is some very somber news here in this book of ending and new beginnings.
That verse about the gates never being shut…doesn’t mean just anyone will enter.
The city is safe and needs no gates…because sin cannot enter…which means those whose sins have not been covered by Christ…cannot enter.
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
This Lamb’s book of life is a poetic way of saying people who have committed their lives to Christ…They have trusted him to save them.
Those who have not trusted him…are excluded from his life and presence.
*There are tons of Movies that depict our deep longing for justice: Silverado…90’s western…Danny Glover “That ain’t right.” about some injustice.
*What made the movie successful was…in the end…things were made right.
Movies that set up tremendous injustice…then let that injustice stand…are not going to be successful.
Why? “Eternity in our hearts”…the sense that Justice is good is built into us.
*So even the convicted murderer will say about parts of his prison experience “This isn’t right, they are not treating me right.”
Justice must win in the end…God cannot allow injustice to stand and remain who he is.
9
But it won’t just be the epic evil people of history who will receive justice.
All who have not trusted Christ and received his grace will receive the justice for their sin.
Rev. 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This poetic, symbolic language…but they are symbols of real things and real people.
The spiritually dead, who die physically without receiving Christ’s life in them…will remain spiritually dead permanently.
This is a very unpopular topic…it always has been.
Hit movie also from the 90’s “Ghost”
-There are people who die and go into a “beautiful light”
-There are people who die and are dragged down into a “slimy darkness”
No one wants the “good people” to go into the dark and no one wants the bad people to go to the light.
The question the Bible asks and answers is: are there really any “good” people?
Not that people do no good or that some people don’t do more good than others.
The question is…has anyone lived a life of perfect love for God and others…does anyone on their own, merit heaven?
The answer is “Yes, one”. Jesus.
All the rest of us deserve justice.
So here is the story of the Bible and of reality…Jesus alone did not deserve justice…and yet he bore what we deserved on the cross.
Now we, all humans…can experience our own justice…we can get what our sin deserves.
Or we can experience grace…getting what we don’t deserve…life with God that begins now and continues indefinitely.
INVITATION TO CHRIST
*November 9, 1938 was called “The night of the broken glass”. Kristallnacht
10
-Violence broke out against Jews over all Germany
-30K were taken away the next day most never to be seen again…it was the beginning of the end for 6 million Jews.
This story has been repeated throughout history…life is mostly normal life…then suddenly its not.
This storyline is repeated every day for individuals who do not live ready for their own “end time”…but the end of Time will come…and the end of my time will come.
We may not be mentally ready for our end, or THE end…but we must live spiritually ready for it.
GOSPEL
CONCLUSION:
Revelation sums up the key truths of the Bible…it gives the second bookend of human history in its current form.
The first bookend is Genesis…beginnings.
The second bookend is Revelation…new beginnings…all things made new.
Revelation is not written to blow your mind and cause you to disengage with the present…it is a very present-centric book.
It is this timeless perspective on current times…what you see now has always been and will be until all things are made new.
Because it is a timeless call to faithful endurance…what you are experiencing is not new…do not lose hope do not lose heart.
Because a certain future is necessary for a certain present…even though it is hard to understand…this much is clear.
God wins, truth wins…evil loses, injustice loses, death loses.
No matter what is happening now…I do not have to lose hope for the future and I do not have to try and manufacture my own meaning.
Hope and meaning are fixed points of reference for my life.
11